Conqu'ring Heroes: Postma, U-M's First Olympic Gold Medalist, Inducted Into Hall of Honor
11/17/2022 11:06:00 AM | General, Features
By Mishal Charnia
When when former University of Michigan student Joan (Spillane) Postma competed in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, she was 17 years old and the oldest female swimmer at the Games. Her team won gold in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, simultaneously setting the world record for the event with her as the starter.
Postma joined Thursday's (Nov. 17) edition of the Conqu'ring Heroes Podcast to talk about her journey as an Olympian, Title IX progression and the opportunities presented to her as a young woman.
"I don't think I realized at the time how unique that was and how unusual that was," said Postma, "because you go and you compete and you win and then you do something and you win and you do something and you win and all of a sudden people are saying well, 'you need to go to the Olympics.' And at that point you think, 'Oh, maybe I could do that."
While almost every female Olympic swimmer she knew was in high school, she noticed that almost all of the male swimmers were in college. For female swimmers at the time, people either aged out or there was no place to go swim.
"People kept asking me as I got older if I was a little bit angry that those opportunities weren't there for me, and I would say I never even thought about it," said Postma. "The whole idea of Title IX and having opportunities like that for young women is just phenomenal."
Four days after the Olympic Games, Postma found herself in Ann Arbor as a student at Michigan. She came on an academic scholarship and would not have been able to afford to attend otherwise. Her interest in U-M peaked when Buck and RoseMary Dawson, elites in the swimming world at the time, told her that they wanted her to come to U-M and join their women's swim team.
"My big focus when I was a freshman was knowing that I needed to keep my grades up so I could stay there," Postma said. "It was the lifetime opportunity to have a college experience like most people do when they go to college instead of living at home. It offered me a chance to go try something."
Postma was inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Honor last Friday (Nov. 11). She was the U-M's first Olympic gold medalist.
"One of the things that I think you learn from being involved in sports is that you have to have the self-confidence that you know you can do something," said Postma. "All you need to do is decide what you love to do, then go and do it."
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